Today’s Science

March 02–2016

ONE

‘Csikszentmihalyi suggested that those who most readily entered into flow states had an “autotelic personality” — a disposition to seek out challenges and get into a state of flow.’

Jeanette Bicknell from Nautilus on:

How to Learn to Love to Practice

• PLUS: Chapter [PDF] on

The Autotelic Personality

from Prof. Dr. Nicola Baumann from the University of Trier

TWO

“Someone who says ‘Fuck it!’ after slopping tea in his lap is not expressing a desire to fuck something, nor is he instructing anyone else to fuck something. To understand this exclamation, we need to consider not what the speaker is referring to or talking about, but what he aims to indicate about his emotions. “

Rebecca Roache from aeon on:

Naughty Words

What makes swear words so offensive? It’s not their meaning or even their sound. Is language itself a red herring here?

THREE

“In short, the study suggests that people have a network in their brains that is attuned to disagreement with other people. When this network is activated, it makes us feel uncomfortable (we experience “cognitive dissonance,” to use the psychological jargon) and it’s avoiding this state that motivates us to switch our views as much as possible.”

Christian Jarret from NYMag’s Science of Us on:

Can Neuroscience Explain Why Some People Are Total Pushovers?

FOUR

“In the hellish depths, where the water can reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit and the rocks themselves are often warm to the touch, there’s not a lot of life to be found. To gather as many living cells as possible for her analysis, Lau leaves some of her vials to filter hundreds to thousands of gallons of water over several weeks to a few months.”

Sandeep Ravindran from Smithsonian on:

Inner Earth Is Teeming With Exotic Forms of Life

More than a mile below the surface, our planet supports diverse creatures that could give us clues about life across the solar system

FIVE

“Human bodies were not made for outer space. Neither were their minds, which is why NASA astronauts talk to psychologists once every two weeks, and write in their personal journals at least three times a week.”

Marina Koren from the Atlantic on:

What One Year of Space Travel Does to the Human Body

After months aboard the International Space Station, Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko are coming home.

+ “The issue turns out not to be new. Many space shuttle astronauts had complained of changes in eyesight, but no one had studied the matter.”

Kenneth Chang from the New York Times on:

Beings Not Made for Space